With Thanksgiving this past week and Christmas around the corner, I've been in a festive mood lately.  We didn't travel over the holiday weekend so it allowed me the chance to have some good downtime and also do some experimenting in the kitchen!  I've been spending [too much] time getting ideas from Pinterest, and I came across this recipe for Cranberry and Pomegranate Bruschetta, which I decided to adapt...and use at least three different ways!  All of these make would make a great addition to a Thanksgiving or Christmas gathering and will add some festive holiday cheer!

We'll start with the primary recipe.

Pomegranate Cranberry Crostini

Seed the pomegranates any way you like (I'm still new to this and haven't determined the best method!) and place the arils (seeds) in a large bowl.  In a food processor, chop cranberries coarsely and add to bowl. Add orange zest, orange juice and 1 Tbps. fresh chopped sage, rosemary and thyme. I heavied up on the sage and rosemary. Mix until well combined.

In a small bowl, combine goat cheese and remaining fresh chopped herbs. Season to taste with garlic powder and salt.

Slice baguettes into 1/2" slices and place in a single layer on cookie sheets. Brush each slice with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Cook at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

To serve, spread a crostini with a layer of goat cheese and top with Pomegranate Cranberry "bruschetta".

I wasn't sure how this would turn out, but I really liked it! I ended up bringing it over for our family gathering on Thanksgiving and it went over quite well.  The flavors all go really well together and the colors and flavors are reminiscent of the holiday season. I did this for Thanksgiving with the intention of repeating at Christmas if it was good.  I think I will be making this again soon.  The leftover bruschetta mixture works great in other recipes, too!


Pomegranate Cranberry Chicken 

The recipe made a lot of the pomegranate cranberry "bruschetta" topping, and, inspired by the original post, I decided to try using it a couple of different ways. The day after Thanksgiving, we decided last minute to have some friends over for dinner. I decided to do a baked orange-herb chicken with an optional Pomegranate Cranberry "relish" for the top.





Ingredients:

• 1.25 lbs chicken breast tenders
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 Tbsp. fresh chopped rosemary and thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup Pomegranate Cranberry relish (as made above)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange chicken in a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish. Pour orange juice over top of chicken. Sprinkle with herbs and add salt and pepper to taste. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Spoon Pomegranate Cranberry relish over the top of each piece before serving.

I ended up serving this with rice; a salad with apples, berries and walnuts; and croissants (I had some leftover ingredients from making a post-Thanksgiving Croissant French Toast breakfast - yum!).  I thought it all went well together.  You could also serve the chicken with a side of pasta or potatoes -- either just tossed with butter/olive oil and herbs would be good.  This was a great way to use some of the leftover "bruschetta".

Pomegranate Cranberry Gin-tini

And, finally, you can't forget the drinks!  I've been wanting to try a few holiday cocktail ideas and thought this pomegranate cranberry mixture I had would make a great gin cocktail / martini.